Functional Hemispheric (A)symmetries in the Aged Brain—Relevance for Working Memory

Bibliographic Details
Title: Functional Hemispheric (A)symmetries in the Aged Brain—Relevance for Working Memory
Authors: Madalena Esteves, Ricardo Magalhães, Paulo Marques, Teresa C. Castanho, Carlos Portugal-Nunes, José M. Soares, Armando Almeida, Nadine C. Santos, Nuno Sousa, Hugo Leite-Almeida
Source: Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, Vol 10 (2018)
Publisher Information: Frontiers Media S.A., 2018.
Publication Year: 2018
Collection: LCC:Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Subject Terms: laterality, N-back, aging, fMRI, superior parietal, Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry, RC321-571
More Details: Functional hemispheric asymmetries have been described in different cognitive processes, such as decision-making and motivation. Variations in the pattern of left/right activity have been associated with normal brain functioning, and with neuropsychiatric diseases. Such asymmetries in brain activity evolve throughout life and are thought to decrease with aging, but clear associations with cognitive function have never been established. Herein, we assessed functional laterality during a working memory task (N-Back) in a healthy aging cohort (over 50 years old) and associated these asymmetries with performance in the test. Activity of lobule VI of the cerebellar hemisphere and angular gyrus was found to be lateralized to the right hemisphere, while the precentral gyrus presented left > right activation during this task. Interestingly, 1-Back accuracy was positively correlated with left > right superior parietal lobule activation, which was mostly due to the influence of the left hemisphere. In conclusion, although regions were mostly symmetrically activated during the N-Back task, performance in working memory in aged individuals seems to benefit from lateralized involvement of the superior parietal lobule.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 1663-4365
Relation: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnagi.2018.00058/full; https://doaj.org/toc/1663-4365
DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2018.00058
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/a343c8f22fcc4ecaa945b20b306e15f1
Accession Number: edsdoj.343c8f22fcc4ecaa945b20b306e15f1
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:16634365
DOI:10.3389/fnagi.2018.00058
Published in:Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
Language:English